Aiming to create a lively central gathering place for downtown
Escondido, the City Council approved plans Wednesday for an
elaborate pedestrian plaza on Maple Street near Valley Parkway that
could be built by midsummer.

Some city residents and two council members complained that the
plaza would be too fancy, will cost too much at $2.9 million, and
was unlikely to become a major attraction.

But a majority of the council said the project needed to be
spectacular to succeed, and that the plaza would boost nearby
businesses and help bring more condominium projects to downtown
Escondido by making the area a more appealing place to live.

"If you have a compromise project, you won't achieve your
goals," said Mayor Sam Abed. "Roads do not create that sense of
community, but this does."

The council's approval, which came in a 4-1 vote with Marie
Waldron dissenting, will allow LB Civil Construction to break
ground on the roughly six-month project in mid-January, said Robb
Zaino, the city's deputy director of engineering.

The approval comes after more than six years of planning, which
began
in June 2005 when the city received a $945,000 "smart
growth" grant for the project from the San Diego Association of
Governments, the county's regional planning agency.

Critics, including Waldron and Councilwoman Olga Diaz, say the
city should have spent only the $165,000 in "matching" funds that
SANDAG required, making the total price tag $1.1 million.

But city planners and an architect the city hired
added
features over the years, including two large areas shaded
by trellises, an interactive fountain, two "Maple Street Plaza"
entry arches, two information kiosks, plus a stoplight and
crosswalk at Maple and Valley.

The plaza will also include game tables, benches, performance
spaces, decorative paving and trees with colored lights that will
change with the season.

"We let this project get away from us over the years," Diaz said
Wednesday, urging her colleagues to save $200,000 by deleting the
kiosks, the crosswalk and the entry arches.

Waldron agreed that some features should be eliminated, but said
the interactive fountain should go first because it would be a
magnet for skateboarders.

Ultimately, the council agreed to eliminate the kiosks, which
reduced the project's cost by $52,000.

Abed stressed that the city's contribution was money that must
be spent on roads and related projects, so it couldn't be spent on
libraries, recreation programs or salaries for firefighters and
police officers.

But Waldron and two residents, Lisa Prazeau and Carol Rea, said
$920,000 coming from state gas tax funds should have been spent on
other road projects, such as repairing potholes or adding curbs and
gutters in older neighborhoods.

Those critics also said the plaza might struggle to become a
gathering site because there are few retail businesses in the area,
and because most downtown businesses are closed at night and on
Sundays.

But Councilman Ed Gallo said the success of downtown restaurants
with patios, such as Vinz Wine Bar and O'Sullivan's, is evidence
that the public craves appealing outdoor spaces in which to gather
and hang out.